Because of You
by sweeneykitkat
Summary: A song fic to Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" dedicated to an evening in the life of Oyamada Mannoko. (edited)


Chuck: Hey, again! I'm attempting to fix the grammer in this, so you'll have to bear with me.

Note: This isstill my first Song fic so be gentle

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Because of You

_I will not make the same mistakes that you did,  
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery,  
I will not break the way you did,  
You fell so hard,  
I learned the hard way, to never let it get that far._

The small girl sat in her room, cradling her teddy bear quietly, as she listened to her father yell at Manta. She hated it when he yelled. Bad things always happened when he yelled. People disappeared when he yelled. Her father had always been and angry man, but it seemed he was always angrier when he was around Manta. The boy displeased him. He was slowly losing control over him, so he had to be more stern, more aggressive, more dangerous.

The girl sighed, then cuddled the plush bear. "Don't worry, Teddy. Daddy'll be done in a minute." After a minute, the sound of Manta defending his friend's from his father's insults began to fill the air. "Maybe not," she sighed sadly. A pout crossed her face, as she heard Manta talking of his 'wonderful' friends. This was a mistake, and she knew it. "Stupid Onii. Even I know not to talk back to daddy like that. Hmpf!" She hopped off her bed and pressed her ear to the door. She heard her father yell something, then Manta's voice began to crack. She sighed again. "You're gonna cry. You always cry. Right Teddy? Hear that, he's crying." She cradled the bear once more, then kissed his cheek. "Stupid Onii. He only makes himself sad when he tries to make daddy understand. Then he breaks down so easily. Baka!" She heard Manta begin yelling, and then she turned form the door. "I already learned that you shouldn't try to put your opinion against Daddy's."

_Because of you,  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk.  
Because of you,  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt.  
Because of you,  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me.  
Because of you,  
I am afraid..._

About half an hour later, Mannoko walked down the stairs quietly, trying not to disturb the peace with her tiny steps. It had been quiet for a while now, so either Mansumi had played the "You'll understand someday," card, or Manta had run away to the En Inn. "He probably ran. He always does. Hmpf!" She walked into the living room, then her eyes brightened when she came across a plate with two dumplings sitting on the table next to her father's chair. " Yummy!" She hopped over, then froze realizing their placement. "This is Daddy's table." She thought about her original plan, then sighed. "Better leave em alone."

"Very good, Mannoko."

She turned to the doorway, hearing her father's voice.

"You've demonstrated something that people experience in business all the time." He approached the table, then lifted the plate. "You saw your opportunity, and automatically tried to get it , but," he placed the plate back down, "as a skilled business man would, you stopped yourself to realize the strings that were attached, then you decided that the deal wasn't worth it." He chuckled, then handed a dumpling to her. "You're very smart. Some businessmen will just sink there teeth into a deal," his eyes narrowed, "and suffer the bitter consequences." He lifted a dumpling off the plate, and held it out to her. "Would you like one?"

Mannoko held her breath for a second, then slowly shook her head. "Uh, no thanks. I'll just wait for dinner."

A smirk crossed the man's face. "That's a good girl."

Mannoko watched her father leave the room, then she poked the dumplings on the table.

"Mannoko-san?"

"Huh!?!" She whipped around, then sighed seeing Tamura standing in the door way. "Uh, what is it?"

"I brought you some dumplings, but I see you already have some." He saw the strange expression that had began spreading across Mannoko's face, then walked over. "Tell you what, Mannoko-san, how about you take these, and I'll get rid of these, uh, less fresh ones." He quickly removed the plate from the room, leaving the girl in the room.

She stared at the new plate, then lifted one of the dumplings, but the fear of her father's earlier statement still fresh in her mind, she quickly dropped it, then placed them all in the trash can across the room. "I'll just wait for dinner."

_I lose my way,  
And it's not too long before you point it out.  
I cannot cry,  
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes.  
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh,  
Every day of my life.  
My heart can't possibly break,  
When it wasn't even whole to start with..._

It was another hour before Tamura called the small girl to the dinning room. She quickly washed up, then hopped into her chair that was now equipped with several phone books. She quickly fixed her skirt, then smiled as Tamura served the food.

"So, Mannoko . . ."

Mannoko looked to her mother.

". . . what are you thinking about, career wise?"

She thought for a second, then smiled. "Well, Mommy I,'ve been working really had on my drawings lately, so I think I'll be a street artist." She quickly became silent when she saw her father's expression harden. "Eh! . . . But of course that would only be second to being a secretary in one of Daddy's offices."

Mansumi smiled. "Hmpf! A street artist? What a useless career! Why, no one in their right mind would ever become a street artist. Mannoko, you're better off just marrying a businessman when your older."

Mannoko looked down, feeling tears building in her eyes.

"That is what you really plan to do, right Mannoko?"

The girl looked up quickly with a big smile. "Of coarse, Daddy! That's exactly what I wanna do. What else would I do? Save the world like Manta wants to?" she cooed, her tone and smile becoming more obnoxious to match her father's.

"Very good." He quickly finished eating, the took a newspaper from Tamura. "I'm retiring to the living room for awhile. I trust there'll be no interruptions." And with that, Mansumi left his wife and daughter to finish eating.

_I watched you die, I heard you cry,  
Every night in your sleep.  
I was so young, you should have known,  
Better than to lean on me.  
You never thought of anyone else,  
You just saw your pain.  
And now I cry in the middle of the night,  
Over the same damn thing._

It was 9:49when Mannoko heard her brother creep up the stairs and open her door.

"Mannoko? Mannoko?"

She sighed hearing his voice was shaky. He had obviously been in another fight with their father. "What do you want?"

He quickly trotted over to her bed. "Could I sleep in with you, tonight?"

"Why?"

"Cause I wanna be with you."

She grumbled for a moment, and then while letting out a soft yawn she lifted the covers. "Fine, but be quick about it."

A happy sound came from Manta as he climbed into bed. "Sankyuu, Mannoko."

"Yeah, whatever."

Manta sighed, then looked over to her. "Dad's just so . . . Dad! All he cares about is his damn company and stupid appearance. Grrr!"

Mannoko sighed as she listened to her brother go on about his fight for another half hour.

"He said some pretty nasty things about Yoh-kun and the others too. Oh, if I were just a little bit older, I'd move out of here!"

"Oh, Onii . . ."

"Come on Mannoko, you can understand, right!?! He talks to you like that too, doesn't he?"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Manta! Go back to your room!"

Manta laid dumbstruck for a moment, and then nodded sadly. "Alright, Mannoko." He slowly slipped out of her bed, and then crept back to his room, leaving her room cold and silent.

She curled up to her teddy, then after a moment of listening for her elder brother, she finally began to weep.

Because of you,  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk.  
Because of you,  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt.  
Because of you,  
I tried my hardest just to forget everything.  
Because of you,  
I don't know how to let anyone else in.  
Because of you,  
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty.  
Because of you,

Half an hour of crying later, Mannoko heard soft taps coming from her brother's room, then the sound of his window opening.

"Yoh-kun, what are you doing up in that tree?"

"I decided to come and save you from your dark prison, my little Manta-chan."

"Yoh-kun, shhh. You'll wake my parents."

"Have no fear, Manta. I'm like the wind . . ."

Mannoko suddenly heard Yoh cry out, then Manta began giggling.

"The last time I checked, the wind didn't fall out of trees, Yoh-kun."

All was quiet for a moment, then she heard Manta's window shut. "Huh?" She hopped out of her bed, and peered out the window to see Manta being carried a way by a dark figure, that could only be Yoh. "Stupid Onii," she thought. "I'm not being a part of this, I'll just go back to bed and tell Daddy I didn't hear anything." She began to turn away, then her eyes became sad. Even if they had asked her to come, she never would have. She didn't know how to act around people like them, people that smiled back when you greeted them, or hugged you just for the sake of hugging you. She would never know how to act around them.

Tears slowly fell from her blue eyes, as she watched her brother get carried away.

_"I am afraid . . .because of you . . . . . . ."_

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Chuck: All fixed up, thanks to Nii-san! Written because Shachoco asked so nicely. Anyway, if there are any errors, blamemy Sis, Falcon Strife (or as she's now known, Babysoft-chan). Well, hope it's back up to speed. See ya! cough R&R cough 


End file.
